Over the past 25 years, the education system in the Caribbean has gone through multiple changes and reforms, the majority of them aimed at solving the problems facing the system.
However, very few of these changes and reforms were aimed at completely rethinking the function of education in society and highlighting the purpose of education in post-independence Caribbean society. Some of the reforms adopted over time have evolved into initiatives designed along the lines promoted by donor agencies and other organizations.
But to better understand how education needs to be rethought in the Caribbean, it is important to check the historical context.
The evolution of the education system in the region has been strongly influenced by the fact that people have been able to access higher levels of education since the start of public education after the Moyne Commission. If we had to analyze the phenomenon from a historical perspective, we can say that the modernization and extension of the education system took place in a linear fashion. Progress in education has followed the progress of society, when society has had development, education has been one of the factors that facilitated it.
Universal primary education was one of the main factors in the transition from a society based on the plantation economy to more complex modes of production. With the move towards a service economy, the new educational norm involves universal secondary education, as it has the role of providing the right human resource to make the transition successful. For society to take the next step towards an information economy, it is necessary for society to move towards higher education.
Caribbean education is influenced by international trends
The majority of post-colonial educational reforms and changes have not included the colonial heritage. The society adopted an educational system based on a structural framework and principles of organization which had as its main objective the sorting and classifying of students.
For example, we can analyze the progress of universal secondary education. In the past, students had access to secondary education according to their performance and skills, and according to the number of places available. This means that the best-graded students are those who have had the chance to access secondary education. With the introduction of universal secondary education, all students have access to the secondary education system, but the company hasn’t customized the system to make sure it’s right for everyone. Many students struggle to meet the standards of the secondary education system; therefore, the system is in dire need of sanitation. Nowadays, some of the students who want to follow the standards required by secondary education get online courses to improve their knowledge. The advent of the Internet has given students a second chance to follow their colleagues and perform in high school. Moreover, the Internet is the one that has provided Caribbean society with access to international trends in education.
Much of the progress in education in the Caribbean has been achieved with the assistance from international organizations such as UNESCO who promoted international educational trends and helped society to adopt and include them in their systems.
Why does the education system need to be redefined?
There are several reasons why the education system in the Caribbean requires upgrades.
- Messing with the system does not get the necessary results
At some point, messing with the education system just doesn’t work anymore. An education system works similarly to an ecosystem if you make changes to one of its dimensions, all other dimensions require upgrades and adjustments to function properly. For example, if a change is made to the curriculum, textbooks need to include that change, teachers need to be trained to focus on the change, and teaching methods need to be updated. It happens that a change of course even requires a reorganization of the classroom to allow the pupils to benefit from the redefinition of the education system.
The current education system must be changed so that it becomes a tool that facilitates social transformation and supports human empowerment.
- Education is seen as the cure for the problems facing society
Education is seen as the cure for the social problems that people are experiencing. The curriculum has reached a point where it cannot have other subjects, it is understandable that the demands of society have changed and students need broader and more complex knowledge, but at present, the program has reached its peak. At present, the education system is used as a tool to solve social problems, and there is no doubt that it has a major role in solving these problems, but it must be redefined according to certain changes relevant. Society cannot expect the education system to be the one that solves all the problems. Teachers cannot be held responsible for social problems, and they cannot substitute for family education, social agents and other institutions.
- The education system is no longer efficient
The reform of the Caribbean education system has not been adopted in a systemic way, the problems of one sector lead to other problems in the other sectors. If the focus is not on the development of the child in primary school, he will perform poorly in secondary school, and he will lack skills when he goes on to higher education. Although the Caribbean government has spent a lot of money improving and redefining the education system, the result has not been as expected and performance levels have not increased. Students find school boring and they turn to other learning methods that excite them. The new digital generation prefer online education as it fits their lifestyles and makes the process fun and educational.
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